21 February 2014 - The Philippines shines bright in the 20th year of the International Festival of Asian Cinema (FICA), the biggest Asian film festival in Europe. From February 11 to 18 this year, close to 30,000 people watched over one hundred films from Asia in Vesoul, capital of the Haute-Saône region, 315 kilometers east of Paris.
For the Festival’s 20th year, the organizers, headed by Martine Thérouanne, Director of the Festival and her husband, Jean-Marc Thérouanne, Secretary General, have chosen to present a “Retrospective of Philippine Cinema” that showcased more than 20 different films produced in the Philippines from 1975 to 2014. Some of these films included Marlon Rivera’s Ang Babae sa Septic Tank, Jeffrey Jeturian’s Kargador, Mes de Guzman’s Ang Istorya ni Mabitu, Ismael Bernal’s Himala, LinoBrocka’s Maynila sa mga Kuko ng Liwanag, Marilou Diaz-Abaya’s Karnal and Brillante Mendoza’s Thy Womb.
Internationally acclaimed Filipino producer and director Brillante Mendoza was the President of the Festival’s Grand Jury this year. Mr. Mendoza was recently named Chevalier des Arts et Lettres (Knight of Arts and Letters) by the French government at an awarding ceremony held in the French Embassy in Manila last January. During the closing ceremony of the Festival on February 18, he was also awarded the Cycle d’Or (Golden Wheel) lifetime achievement award for his collection of works.
Eduardo Roy’s critically acclaimed film Quick Change, which focuses on the life of Dorina, a transvestite living in Manila, bagged the Internet Press Award during the awarding ceremonies.
Present during the closing ceremony to present the Emile Guimet Award was Hubert Guimet, great grandson of the founder of the Guimet Museum in Paris, the biggest and most prestigious museum of Asian art in Europe.
Other notable Filipinos who were present in this year’s festival were multi-awarded actress Eugene Domingo and Rolando Tolentino, Dean of the University of the Philippines College of Mass Communication. Dean Tolentino was also the president of the jurists from the Network for the Promotion of Asian Cinema (NETPAC) during the Festival. The Philippine Embassy in Paris was represented by Third Secretary and Vice Consul André Peter C. Estanislao and Mr. Arnel V. De Luna, Attaché.
The winners of the 20th FICA are:
Cycle d’Or Award
10 Minutes, Lee Young-Seung (South Korea)
Grand Jury Prize
Nobody’s Home, DenizAzçay (Turkey)
Jury’s Special Mention
Quissa, Anup Singh (India)
NETPAC Award
The Ferry, Shi Wei (China)
Emile Guimet Award
The Ferry, Shi Wei (China)
Special Mention
Summer’s End, Kumakiri Kazuyoshi (Japan)
INALCO (National Institute of Oriental Languages and Civilizations, Paris) Award
Quissa, Anup Singh (India)
Special Mention
10 Minutes, Lee Young-Seung (South Korea)
Internet Press Award
Quick Change, Eduardo Roy, Jr, (Philippines)
People’s Choice Award
Again, Kanai Junichi (Japan)
Vesoul High Schools Award
Nobody’s Home, DenizAzçay (Turkey)
Public Choice Award for a Documentary
Mille Jours à Saigon (A Thousand Days in Saigon), M.C. Courtès (Vietnam-France)
Youth Award for a Documentary
Blossom with Tears, Huaquing Jin (China)
For more information on FICA, visit their website at www.cinemas-asie.com. END